Tuesday, August 11, 2009

House of Freaks: Crack in the Sidewalk Documentary

Interesting short documentary about House of Freaks and the murder of the Harvey family.

It's an extraordinarily well-done piece. And it's great for the Freaks to get any attention for their music and their performances, albeit 20 years too late. I saw them half a dozen times, I think, and while they were always good, that last show at the Black Cat in Washington, DC, back in summer '95, I think it was, stands out as one of the top 10 best shows I've ever attended. Actually, that had already been a memorable show when Steve Wynn joined them, unannounced, for the last half of the night. Such great stuff.

On the other hand, I'm still not sure even as I type this if I'll post it because of the murder aspect. There's something about the coverage of this story -- it's not just this film, it's much of the coverage I've seen over the years -- that gives me the feeling of voyeurism at points. I think the counterargument in this case is that the documentary focuses much more on the band and the connections that Harvey and Hott made with fans and less so on the details of the crime, which, unfortunately, were ready-made for the sorts of sensationalistic coverage the story has created in the last three-plus years. Meaning, I think, that I've finally convinced myself.

And with that bit of explanation and hand wringing out of the way, finally, here's the link:
Crack in the Sidewalk
Also available on IMDB.

1 comment:

  1. That is a really great piece on such a sad, stupid and tragic event. It's amazing how their songs have buried themselves deep, deep down in my brain.

    ReplyDelete